How Much Time Do You Moms Spend on Twitter Each Week?
If you are like me, a mom who blogs professionally, this question is for you. But, I'd also like to hear from moms who blog for other reasons such as for fun, information, or simply out of boredom - LOL. Twitter as most of us know can be a real time sink sometimes. Wondering who else sometimes spends more time on Twitter than on writing posts for your blog I'm guessing my own Twitter-per-week average is about 15 hours per week. How about you?
Please leave a comment with a link to your blog below telling approximately how much time you spend on Twitter per week.
Fascinating Live Webcam Gives Kids a Science & Educational Opportunity to Observe Barn Owls Hatching in Real Time
MommyBlogExpert
Owl Update as of March 17, 2010
The owl babies haven't hatched yet but you can listen to this new interesting live narration given to some young students this morning, St. Patrick's Day. This footage includes questions from some San Diego area 4th graders that are answered by Carlos Royal, the knowledgable man who set up the owl box in his backyard and is monitoring all the activity that is airing on UStream 24/7. The questions the kids ask are really good ones and Royal's answers will teach you and your kids a lot about owls.
Mommy Owl Molly and Daddy Owl McGee are looking forward to having 6 new children, that will likely begin arriving within the next few days between March 18 - 20.
Owl Update as of March 17, 2010
The owl babies haven't hatched yet but you can listen to this new interesting live narration given to some young students this morning, St. Patrick's Day. This footage includes questions from some San Diego area 4th graders that are answered by Carlos Royal, the knowledgable man who set up the owl box in his backyard and is monitoring all the activity that is airing on UStream 24/7. The questions the kids ask are really good ones and Royal's answers will teach you and your kids a lot about owls.
Mommy Owl Molly and Daddy Owl McGee are looking forward to having 6 new children, that will likely begin arriving within the next few days between March 18 - 20.
If you or your kids have never seen a barn owl and its babies in their nest, you have to see this View LIVE ON WEBCAM RIGHT NOW . Located in San Marcos, California you and your family can witness these beautiful creatures 24/7 up close in real time. The picture with this post shows some barn owl youngsters similar to the ones that should be born within the next few weeks on the West Coast.
Today I stumbled upon another unusual, yet educational website that I want to share with families young and old. My own kids (homeschooled 7th grade triplets and 9th grade big brother) and I are very excited about this and will be logging on often every day till all the owls hatch and are old enough to leave the nest on their own permanently.
This is an excellent opportunity for kids ranging from those who are very young, to older teens and even grownups to learn about science and ornithology by seeing nature at work. You can even view them easily at night as the automatic camera recording this miracle of life has night vision lenses.
Information on the site where you access the barn owl family's webcam's images explains that the male has a white chest and face and usually shows up after dark. The female is always present ad I just saw her sitting on the six eggs that are incubating now and are expected to hatch in the next few days or weeks. The male has a white chest and face and usually shows up after dark, but he has spent an entire day with the female. There are currently six eggs in the nest that are yet to be hatched.
Below are the dates when each egg was laid with its approximate hatch date as listed on the site as of the date/time this MommyBlogExpert blogpost went live.
Egg 1 2/13/10 12:15 PM Est. Hatch 3/14-17th
Egg 2 2/16/10 07:23 AM Est. Hatch 3/16-20th
Egg 3 2/18/10 09:13 AM Est. Hatch 3/18-22nd
Egg 4 2/20/10 11:07 AM Est. Hatch 3/20-24th
Egg 5 2/22/10 02:00 PM Est. Hatch 3/22-26th
Egg 6 2/25/10 09:35 AM Est. Hatch 3/25-29th
FTC Disclosure: MommyBlogExpert did not receive any payment or other compensation associated with this post. See complete FTC Disclosure information that appears at the bottom of MommyBlogExpert's main page and at the bottom of every individual post on this blog, including this one.
Momblogmag.com GOES LIVE - Newest Free Network Especially for Mommy Bloggers
by Janis Brett Elspas
Another new, Free networking and educational resource for mommy bloggers called Momblogmag just went live today.
According to this new site's About Page, MomBlogMag is for moms who blog who are serious about learning about the business and being successful. It is for the pro who wants to stay current as well as for the newbie just getting her feet wet.
Created and edited by a brand and mom connector, veteran blogger and social media consultant, Jennifer James, who is also founder of the Mom Bloggers Club.
FTC Disclosure: MommyBlogExpert did not receive any payment or other compensation associated with any person or any of the companies mentioned in this post. See complete FTC Disclosure information that appears at the bottom of MommyBlogExpert's main page and at the bottom of every individual post on this blog, including this one.
New York Times Writer's Swipe At Mommy Bloggers Only Makes Us Stronger
by Janis Brett Elspas
There's nothing like yet another controversial article published in a well-respected traditional media outlet to ignite a strong reaction among moms like me who blog. This was definitely the case in the fallout response to The New York Times yesterday from a story by Jennifer Mendelsohn, titled Honey, Don't Bother Mommy. I'm Too Busy Building My Brand. that ran in the paper's Sunday New York Edition
Before I recap my own take on all that has transpired since first reading this article, it's important that readers understand that I come from a background of more than 25 years in agency and corporate media relations interspersed with some work as a published traditional journalist. I'm also a real mom of four kids who is now reshaping my prior experience into a professional mommy blogging career via my own blog MommyBlogExpert .
Now that I've fully disclosed the origins of my perspective, I'm not going to tip toe around as if walking on eggs. Instead, I'll come right out and say what my initial reaction was to this The Times story about Mommy Bloggers and the recent Bloggy Boot Camp in Baltimore -- I felt that it was nothing short of insulting. At first I viewed it as destructive not only to us moms who blog professionally and to women without children who make their livings as bloggers, I considered it particularly damaging to consumer brands (and their public relations representatives), large and small, regional and global, who seek to connect with us.
Certainly the initial backlash from the offended parties has been staggering. Just since news of the article first began to spread across the Internet less than 48 hours ago (the story was actually posted online on March 13, the afternoon before the print edition), there have been countless Tweets on Twitter about it and more than 100 posts on individual blogs rising up in revolt.
Danielle Wiley of Edelman Digital - Chicago was an early responder to the above mentioned article. In a commentary blogpost on Edelman Digital's site Wiley, who also writes the blog FoodMomiac , speaks with the level head of a PR pro navigating the murky waters between her clients and the media she works with to get those companies' messages disseminated. She alludes to the patronizing downright demeaning way Mendelsohn refers to the women bloggers with kids who made up about 90 percent of the attendees at the prior weekend's boot camp. Wiley is far from being alone in what she thinks about all this.
Here's just a few of the many responses moms have posted to date on their own blogs, generally indicating the feeling that mommy bloggers are being talked down to, almost as if they are being mocked for acting like children in an adult world.
- New York Times Biased Against So-Called Mom Bloggers by Linda Sellers
- MindlessJunque on the New York Times Mommy Blogger by Heather Blair
- PunditMom's Open Letter to The New York Times by Joanne Bamberger
- Newspaper Bias Against Mommy Bloggers by Kelby Carr
- Mom-101's Mildly Annoyed Letter to The New York Times by Liz Gumbinner
My own knee jerk reaction was to push the publish button right there for this post and agree with the prevailing opinion. But before I did, I luckily switched from my mommy blog mind over to thinking like an investigative journalist to dig and discover the back story of how this negative portrayal of mommy bloggers originated in the first place. From the condescending tone of the article I had wrongly assumed -- before checking out the facts -- that the author was strictly a traditional journalist on staff at The Times who ldid not even have kids of her own. What I have found instead was the complete opposite: Mendelsohn is a freelance journalist who is also a former People magazine correspondent covering celebrities. And gasp... she's a mom of two young boys herself according to her blog JenMen.
As we have all seen, stirring up controversy where comraderie previously existed isn't always perceived as being productive. Mendelsohn is one of us. Yet, she takes so many swings at her fellow moms who also blog that it's easy to imagine her blindfolded swinging at a pinata in the backyard. With each belittling or below-the-belt quip in this The Times article she figuratively slices clumsily through the air with her stick missing the target -- spinning herself faster and lunging more wildly with every misguided stroke. What I've concluded in this particular instance is that the article at issue here was written by a mom that blogs (just like me) that is projecting the personal, negative way she views her mommy blogging self upon the rest of us.
In summary, The Times -- at least temporarily -- gets a spike in its readership which sells more newspapers. But where does that leave the rest of us? Suffice it to say that I don't think injecting one's own opinions so strongly into a piece that should have been a whole lot more objective and factual can be considered good journalism. Mendelsohn with her national writing background should have known better.
The Times story isn't the first and it won't be the last attempt to tread on the nascent colorful mommy blogger and brand interactive conversation which is finally beginning to blossom and flourish. But one thing is for certain, at least in the short run. The current debate has unleashed another uproar among the tightly knit mommy blogger community, a sector which is unfortunately far too accustomed to having to respond collectively to attacks appearing in traditional powerhouse media outlets such as this. This is a struggle which is also spilling over into potentially offending consumer brands, their advertising representatives, and public relations agencies -- ultimately disrupting the synergy they (and us mommy bloggers) are working so hard to build.
The good news is that in all this friction there is a silver lining to the gray cloud that has been cast upon us. Mommy bloggers, consumer brands, and the representative agencies enduring challenges to their legitimacy such as this will only strengthen us all. We've proved it with the current onslaught, as surely as we have in the past and we will again do in the future. Just like being a kid, we are starting to grow up -- collectively maturing -- beginning to come into our own.
What are your thoughts on this? Please leave a comment and share it.
FTC Disclosure: MommyBlogExpert did not receive any payment or other compensation associated with any of the individuals or companies mentioned in this post. See complete FTC Disclosure information that appears at the bottom of MommyBlogExpert's main page and at the bottom of every individual post on this blog, including this one.
FTC Disclosure: MommyBlogExpert did not receive any payment or other compensation associated with any of the individuals or companies mentioned in this post. See complete FTC Disclosure information that appears at the bottom of MommyBlogExpert's main page and at the bottom of every individual post on this blog, including this one.
FREE Mommy Blogger Conference March 16th - SmartMom Solutions Roadshow for Mommy Bloggers TOMORROW
March 16, 2010 in Durham, NC
Mommy Bloggers,
Maria Bailey and MomSelect are inviting you and your friends to the FREE SmartMom Solutions Roadshow kicking off tomorrow in Cary, NC in the Durham metro area.
10 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Homewood Suites by Hilton
100 MacAlyson Court
Cary, NC
During this free event, a range of national products and brands that are designed with Moms in mind will be showcased and mothers attending will have the opportunity to take part in interactive demonstrations and touch and feel the products shown. Attendees will also have the chance to win great prizes. In addition, there will also be a local mom expert presentation and the opportunity for mommy networking and socializing.
Feel free to pass along this invitation to your local friends and peers. RSVP here . If you have any questions about the event, please feel free to contact Valika@bsmmedia.com
Can't attend in North Carolina tomorrow? Don't worry, similar events are scheduled in the coming months across the U.S. in other metro areas such as Tampa, Chicago, New York, Atlanta, and Phoenix so check the 2010 Mommy & Women Blogger Master Conference Event Calendar for future blogger conference dates and information.
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